Mets' Starling Marte gets meds for migraines, which he'll have to deal with
Starling Marte of the New York Mets reacts after his third-inning double against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field on June 17, 2023. Credit: Jim McIsaac
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Half a month after a series of debilitating migraines forced him to the injured list, Starling Marte is in line to be activated on Friday, the problem not so much resolved as it is tolerated.
Several doctor visits in recent weeks left Marte with a new arrangement: aware that a migraine can strike at any time, but armed with prescription medicine he is supposed to take when he feels one coming on.
It is helpful, he said, that he can relax knowing nothing more serious is going on.
“I even got an MRI to check it out,” Marte said through an interpreter Thursday. “They found a little white dot that [is] what people with migraines have. But they also said that mine isn’t as severe as other cases. Some people need to get 31 injections to try to relieve migraines. For me, that wasn’t the case. We were able to rule out a lot of things that were worrisome.
“I was a little bit worried about it since I had consecutive migraines and that had never happened. And that headache that I had was a lot different than what I’ve had. We got it checked out, everything is pretty normal. It was able to ease our spirits on that one.”
Marte has felt better lately, even though he had a migraine as recently as early this week, he said. Now he just has to deal with it.
“Now we just kind of know that it’s possible to be expecting it,” he said. “But there’s no real reason.”
The IL stint served as a pause in what has been the worst season of Marte’s career. He has personal-worsts in average (.254), slugging percentage (.332) and OPS (.640) and hasn’t been sharp defensively.
Along the way, he has dealt with discomfort stemming from double groin surgery last November. The Mets’ hope is that the hiatus will help him feel better physically overall.
“Without a doubt,” manager Buck Showalter said. “That’s one of the reasons why we did it.”
Extra bases
David Peterson will start Friday against the Orioles, his return to the rotation created by the trade of Max Scherzer to the Rangers . . . Showalter said he expects Brandon Nimmo (left quad tightness) back in the lineup Friday.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
